Jesus Rosendo Criminal Justice B1 Professor Roberto Sanchez April 9, 2015 “The DEA” It is widely accepted among the law enforcement community that drugs are the catalyst for the majority of crimes that are committed. With the growing war on terror erupting ever so violently it is shifting attention away from another equally important war; the war on drugs. Americans use drugs everyday from the common prescription pills that your doctor prescribes all the way down to the more destructive drugs such as cocaine and heroine. Drugs are here to stay and its never going to go away because as the saying goes when you chop the head off of one dealer two more grow. Drugs are a big business and as long as greed exists there is always going to be a plethora of people trying to push this into countries, especially America, it is at this moment perhaps the largest consumer of drugs on earth. Therefore it is absolutely critical that the law enforcement of the United States stay one step ahead of this growing enterprise in order to mitigate the dangerous effects that is has on society such as addiction, murder, and prostitution to name a few. Among the many agencies tasked with the responsibility of combating this threat is the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency or (DEA). Most people are familiar with this organization by popular television shows such as “Cocaine Cowboys”, but these programs although entertaining do not do justice as to what the agency is all about. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to shed more light on this agency pertaining to its origins, missions, and activities. In addition I will also provide my reasons as to why I want to join this agency, the qualifications, and what I have done so far to prepare myself for this endeavor. In order to discover the origins of the DEA one must first comb through its history. Before the DEA existed, in the 1915’s there were a number of agencies tasked with combating the drug problem. As time went on though in the early 1960’s these multiple agencies were narrowed down to two organizations whose sole responsibility were to enforce the law on drugs. These two organizations were called the “Bureau of Drug Abuse Control (BDAC) and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN)” (deamuseum.org). In the 1960’s drugs were slowly starting to make their way into becoming a big problem, it wasn’t until the 1970’s though that the drug use among people was enough to issue serious concerns over the matter and take action, and thus the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) was born by combining the Federal Bureau of Drug Abuse Control and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. BNDD in the matter of two years was able to set up offices in several countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Vietnam to combat the international drug trade. By the time President Nixon came to power the primary enforcer on drugs was the BNDD, but the President was still dissatisfied with the federal effort to stop the drug trade because there were still issues between agencies and roles such as with the Federal Customs Service and offered another legislative solution to Congress. After months Congress adopted President Nixon’s plan to create a single federal agency to consolidate and coordinate the government’s drug control activities. In 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was created. (DEA’s creation was expected to end agency rivalries, especially between BNDD and Customs, and better focus federal law enforcement operations to crack down on the sale and distribution of narcotics in the US.) allgov.org Ever since its birth the DEA to this day has been at the frontline on the war on drugs. The general stigma at the moment is that the DEA kicks down doors and apprehends criminals who traffic drugs, and this is indeed true, but thats only a small part of what they do. In fact the DEA has a large amount of responsibility and is tasked with many objectives. These objectives can vary greatly and as a result there are many roles within the DEA. For example intelligence is a very important element that the DEA must acquire in order to do its job. To obtain intelligence the organization may employ a number of methodologies such as undercover field operations, and cyber operations in which a computer expert is able to acquire intelligence from a digital device such as a computer. For this reason the DEA will employ people from all types of backgrounds such as military, college, or expertise in a number of valuable skills. Currently I am most interested in becoming a field agent. I find it fascinating and worthwhile to go out and raid houses, known for plaguing their neighborhoods with drugs and the crime that comes with it. I also think that doing undercover work would be a lot of fun, but as I have little knowledge into this I don’t fully know if I would like it given the reality of it. In addition I am a hands on type of person and would enjoy being active at the workplace. Another added bonus to becoming a field agent is that the agency will send you to special facilities where they will train you into a number of disciplines, including but not limited to marksmanship, surveillance, breaching, hand to hand combat, and much more. There are endless amounts of training available to a field agent. The DEA is responsible for not just investigating violators of the controlled substance act, but also to aid in the prosecution process. Becoming a DEA agent will give me experience within the court system and may open doors towards maybe pursuing higher learning. The last and probably the most important reason on why I want to become a DEA agent is because of my discontent for those who would sell drugs to minors, for a large chunk of my life I have had the pleasure of witnessing this first hand and the ramifications as a result of it addiction, death, and failure. I consider it important to take these criminals off the street, therefore everyday at the job, won’t be a job, but a calling to do something greater than myself. Qualities that I possess that makes me a good candidate is that the number one important thing to me which is a basis for how I live my life is integrity. For much of my youth I never really grasped the meaning of integrity therefore I found no guilt or shame when I did anything I wasn’t suppose to. It wasn’t until I got to college though and after obtaining numerous jobs was it that I truly realized how important integrity is. Through my experiences in college and the workplace I have witnessed and experienced many mistakes due to a lack of integrity. These observations and experiences have shaped who I am by making me value integrity and by living my life the right way even if it isn’t the easiest way. For this reason is why I think I am a good candidate for law enforcement, integrity is a staple in my life and given the occupation of a law enforcement career its important to maintain integrity. Another quality that I possess is that I am reasonable fit and enjoy working out due to me running in high school and saying active by attending a kickboxing gym. The qualifications needed to become a DEA agent are no simple chore. The first thing to even begin your application is that you must first be an American citizen with no outstanding penalties on your criminal record. You then must fill out an application that will ask you for your basic information such as home address, references etc. In addition to the application it’s also mandatory to turn in a questionnaire custom made by the DEA, and drug test. If the drug test clears then the agency will take the time to do a full background investigation into which you are. If everything checks out well, an interview will be scheduled. If the interview is successfully passed, the hiring process will begin. The hiring process will require that you have a full head to toe medical examination, in addition to a physical fitness test designed to rank you. During this process you will also get a polygraph test, which tests for your integrity. If all the above is meant with success then based on the career route you chose you will go to the designated training camp to be trained in that field, in my case it would be a special agent, and I would be sent to an academy that will teach on that focused career. After receiving the training, you would now be a full-fledged trainee with the agency, and the next objective would be to work hard and prove yourself in order to keep your position as competition for cases are fierce. So far in my journey to become a DEA agent I have maintained my fitness,
Constantly pushing myself so that I can get a competitive score on the physical fitness test. I have also done my best to live my life with integrity, and to learn from my experiences and past mistakes in order to not commit them again. In addition I am halfway done with my education and estimate that at the age of 24 I will obtain my Bachelors in Criminal Justice from Cal State Bakersfield. I will also continue working at various places to gain work experience. Currently I work at a gas station which I feel has helped my ability to deal with irritated people and to diffuse the situation, whats more working at the gas station has exposed me to the atrocities that occur in everyday life, stealing, prostitution, and drugs to name a few. In the meantime I have set the plan to work and learn as much as I can in life in order to become a good candidate for the position, and also to mature myself for the better. I am grateful to take this class as it has increased my knowledge of law enforcement and what I should expect. I know it won’t be easy, but with the knowledge I have obtained at Crim B1 I am armed with an advantage.